Page 56 of Omega's Fire

“Well, you don’t have to fix anything tonight,” she says gently. “Come home with me. Just until you get back on your feet.”

The offer hangs between us, and I know what it means. It’s a step backward.

But what choice do I have? Where else can I go?

Nash’s offer surfaces in my mind. I’m stuck between one person who wants to control me and another. And Nash? Well, that’s a far more complicated system.

“Just until I find something else,” I hear myself say.

Relief floods her features. “Of course, darling. Whatever you need.”

I take one last look at the building that’s been my home, watching officers carry out the last of everyone’s things.

“My car’s just around the corner,” Mom says, taking my laptop bag with gentle hands.

I follow her through the chaos to her car. She opens the door for me like we’re on a date and I resist the urge to laugh.

Mom’s car is like her. It’s expensive and clean and well-maintained. It’s the opposite of what my life has been.

I rest my hand on my belly, feeling the slight flutter of movement that’s become more frequent lately. At least I’m not completely alone. At least there’s one person who will never judge me.

“It’s going to be okay,” my mother says softly, reaching over to squeeze my hand. “You’re going to be okay.”

I want to believe her but in one day, I’ve lost my friend, my job and my home.

Sometimes there are no good choices. Sometimes you just have to pick the least devastating option and hope you can live with the consequences.

That’s a choice that isn’t really a choice at all.

Nash

A few months ago, when I was desperately trying to get Leo to talk to me, I bought around ten different SIMs with the idea that I could still keep messaging him once he’d blocked me.

Halvorsen was the one who persuaded me that I’d just make myself look like even more of a stalker, but I still had the SIMs.

Maybe I am a stalker but I did want to check he was okay.

I slipped a paperclip into the side of my phone and replaced the SIM with a new one.

I know Leo’s number off by heart, so I typed it and sent him a simple “Are you alright?”

The message delivered but the second one I sent didn’t. Blocked again. The sting of rejection should cut deeper, but it doesn’t. Leo needs time to process what happened between us. What’s still happening between us.

I can give him time. I should have given him that from the beginning instead of pushing so hard.

My fingers drift to my lips, still feeling the desperate press of his mouth against mine. The way he’d demanded more, taken control even as he surrendered. My cock stirs at the memory, Leo’s breathless moans echoing in my ears.

He’ll come around. He has to.

I gather pack up for the day, feeling completely jubilant, my muscles loose in a way they haven’t been since Leo walked awayfrom that cottage months ago.

The drive home passes in a haze of contentment as I replay every moment of our encounter. The taste of his skin. The perfect arch of his back. The pure need in his eyes.

A flash of pastel colors catches my attention as I drive: Baby World, the store windows filled with cribs and strollers, tiny clothes in rainbow hues. I’ve driven past it a hundred times without a second glance.

Today, I pull into the parking lot.

The automatic doors whoosh open. Young couples wander the aisles with scanning guns and excited expressions. I navigate past them toward the newborn section.

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